Sewing Pretty Bags: Boutique Designs to Stitch & Love

by Debra Valencia, Cheyanne Valencia

Overview

Why buy an ordinary off-the-shelf bag, when you can sew a cute bag in just a day or a weekend? Make your own pretty bag that really sets you apart from the crowd. Sewing Pretty Bags shows you how, with simple sewing projects to stitch and love. Sewing sisters Debra and Cheyanne Valencia present 12 quick and easy projects for sewing boutique handbags, shopping totes, pouches, and more. With step-by-step instructions and fresh, modern designs, they show how to make beautiful bags for both fashion and functional uses. Get inspired to express your unique personality with the stunning prints and colors of today’s contemporary fabrics. You’ll look stylish carrying your one-of-a-kind accessory, personalized with fancy trims, pockets, beads, flowers, or embroidery.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781574219517
Publisher:	Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Incorporated
Publication date:	07/01/2015
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Debra Valencia, a visionary artist, designer, and entrepreneur, has branded a modern style uniquely her own. She has used her design expertise to create distinctive branding, packaging, and product design for companies including Esprit Bed & Bath, Hasbro, Playskool, Milton Bradley, Disney, Hard Rock Cafés & Hotels, The Cheesecake Factory, and MGM Grand Hotels. Her artwork is currently licensed in over 1,200 products in gift, home, and stationery. Her surface designs have been licensed in quilting fabric collections for South Sea Imports, Wilmington Prints, and David Textiles, with over 100 fabrics on the market.

Cheyanne Valencia is the co-author of Sewing Pretty Bags: Boutique Designs to Stitch & Love (July 2015), published by Design Originals and Fox Chapel Publishing. She is currently working on additional craft books in a variety of materials and techniques. Cheyanne is the owner of Prairie Pony Mercantile in Bozeman, Montana. A creative seamstress and quilter, her art ranges from simple and rustic to hip and modern.

Editorial Reviews

05/01/2015
The Valencia sisters began sewing as teens and embraced DIY style before it became trendy. Both pursued careers in the creative arts—Debra as a fabric designer and Cheyanne as the owner of a craft business. In their first print collaboration, they present a collection of brightly colored bags in designs ranging from totes, slings, and other purse-style handbags to a lunch bag set, a yoga mat tote, and a dog carrier with coordinating pouch to hold various canine necessities. Style-wise, several of the bags are reminiscent of Vera Bradley creations, with bright prints and quilted texture, while others feature embellishments such as beads and hand embroidery for added flair. Step-by-step image and text instructions for cutting and construction guide sewists through the process of bag making. VERDICT The patterns in this collection are fairly typical of most beginning bag-making books, but the instructions are easy to follow and the photographs explain some of the complexities of the craft in a clear manner.

Library Journal